Worn to the Bone
by Cerulean Leader
Summary: A series of Young Justice one-shots that occur in both Season 1, Season 2 and between, and some are AU. Pairings inside. Current chapter is "if we believe it, we can breathe it into life"; Conner and Clark family moments.
1. heart

**"my hearts hit an all time low"**

_**by Cerulean Leader**_

_****__****__****__**ø,,ø¤º°°º¤ø,**__**Ƹ̵̡Ӝ̵̨̄Ʒ**__**,**__**ø¤º°°º¤ø**__**,,**__**ø**_

**************Disclaimer: I do not own Young Justice. :)**

**************Rating: T**

**************Pairing: Spitfire (Wally x Artemis)**

**************Summary: After the events of Insecurity, Wally goes on to confront a frustrated Artemis once again, and things get a little... steamy.**

* * *

The punching bag was going to be ripped off the ceiling by how hard it was being bashed against by the snarky blonde, who often let out her frustration by training or venting by yelling at someone, but she preferred to do the former as it satisfied her more. She and the squad of her teammates had only gotten back from their mission a few hours ago, and Artemis was still angry with Wally, at Red Arrow, at the world. But mostly, she was angry at herself, for allowing her own, hidden insecurities take over her sense of concentration.

So, here she was, in the workout room with this determined look on her face. She wasn't standing still, but instead, was using her swift moments and anger to almost make the punching bag crash to the floor by its chains. Dressed in only a red sports bra, black boy shorts and a bandage wrapped around her right hand, she continued to send several types of kicks and punches at the bag. She bounced lightly on her toes, waiting for the bead of sweat to cascade down her tanned face as she panted heavily.

She paused, and changed her position to start once again, stepping back so that most of weight was on her back leg, with well-relaxed knees and clenched fists raised near her face. Artemis' style was a little odd as she had been trained by both Sportsmaster and Green Arrow, so, by combining the teachings of these two and the street fighting she had picked up on, she had a clean, crisp and swift style of fighting.

Stepping forward so that her back moved, she swiveled and delivered a heavy roundhouse kick to the punching bag, before delivering a series of punches. The chain rattled and threatened to give way against the rocky ceiling. Noticing this, Artemis' brow furrowed and her teeth clenched. It was like the punching bag was mocking her.

With a loud yell, she reeled her fist bag and delivered a right-hand with all her might, causing it to finally break off and fall pathetically onto the yoga mat that had been placed under it.

"You're getting sloppy." Announced a familiar voice, one which Artemis had thought had decided not to talk to her for the rest of eternity. She didn't pay him any attention, choosing to pick up her water bottle, take a quick sip and stalk off to where a pair of dual swords were waiting to be used. She hadn't only been trained how to use a bow and arrow by her father, they were just her preferred weapon of choice.

Wally's anger seemed to deepen even further at the blonde's choice to ignore him when he had walked in on her. Truthfully, he was going to talk to her and see if she would leak any information on why she had been acting so weird lately, and when he saw her through the doorway in only a skimpy outfit, a determined look on her face and her hair following her every move, he knew he had to get her to talk. She seemed so out of it, and as much as Wally thought it was hot, her focus was even more out of whack than on the mission.

He shoved his hands inside the pocket of his blue hoodie, showing only the skin between his elbows and wrists as his sleeves were rolled up. Artemis, though hesitantly, looked at him, her eyes steely as hair slowly began to cover her face as the strands of sunshine were slowly beginning to fall out of the loose bun which had been sitting cutely at the top of her head. "We need to talk," he said, coming up behind her. Her glare hardened, and she turned back around. She began to do complicated patterns with her feet, twirling as her loose hair followed, the swords following her as she stabbed the air at different angles.

"_Artie_," he started, walking towards her, trying to annoy her with the nickname so she would at least respond. She almost wanted him to stop her, but she _really _need to relieve her frustration. She refused to go home otherwise and take her anger out on her mum. Paula didn't deserve that. "Artemis, I'm not leaving until we talk about this. You owe the team an explanation."

She remained quiet, moving faster.

He sighed in annoyance, before zooming forward and grabbing the two blades from her grip. He dropped them beside him while Artemis just stood there, mouth agape. The clattering sound of the metal hitting the ground seemed to jolt her out of her daze. Her shocked expression once again disappeared and was replaced with this extremely annoyed expression.

"What the _hell _do you want, Baywatch?" He looked beyond angry by this point, and it almost threw the blonde off, but she refused to let him get to her. She stood her ground.

"What I want is _answers_," he snapped. "I want to know _why _you needed to prove yourself. I told you that I didn't care, that you didn't need too, to me!"

"Not everything is about you, Wally, so why won't you just back off and go away?! And what do you concerned anyway? You don't care, anyway, so what does it matter?!" she answered angrily, practically seething. This seemed to set him off for he stood still for what felt like hours (though it was only a few seconds) before speeding over to her, picking her up and slamming her against the wall while his lips meshed roughly with hers. He grabbed her legs and lifted them so that they wrapped around his waist, almost touching her ass.

She immediately kissed back, trying to focus all her pent-up frustration into that kiss back, all that held back sexual tension between them. Her fingers busied themselves by tangling themselves into his messy red hair, just like she had been wanting to do for months. He licked her upper lip as they continued to kiss each other almost ferociously, and she allowed him access immediately, her own tongue shooting out to meet his.

He reached up and pulled out the band that was holding her hair up and as he was tugging harshly on her strands, she let out a strangled moan. He ran his own fingers through her shining locks as she pulled him back by a hand on his neck to kiss him again.

Soon enough, the passion slowed down because of lack of air, but they didn't pull away, opting to kiss each other languidly, gently, slowly, as they caught their breath. Wally finally eased his head away, pressed his forehead to her sweaty one and looked deeply into her stormy irises.

"I don't know why-" he began, looking down. "-but I care. I _do _care, Artemis, and for you to say that I don't…" Wally sighed, burying his face into the crook in her neck, not bothering to process her shocked expression. She swallowed shallowly, and bowed her head so that her long hair curtained both their faces. "I want you to trust me, Artemis."

"Wally…"

She could feel his hot breath on the skin of her neck, the heat bringing a sense of nervousness to the girl who usually showed no sort of fear at all, as she had been taught by her father that fear was a weakness. "Wally, look at me." She almost whispered, gently scraping her fingers along his forearms.

"…My face is all red." He answered, though he pulled away to look at her anyway. "Just tell me, please?"

Guilt immediately made its way onto her tanned features, but she maintained eye contact with the Flash's sidekick. "I can't, I'm sorry. I do trust you, seriously, but… I don't think _you_ and everyone else will trust me after they find out about my past. I'm not ready to tell everyone yet."

He held her gaze, and smiled gently. "I'm sure that whatever it is, we'll be okay. Tell us when you're ready."

"There is one thing I can tell you though." she said with a sly grin. "You're a pretty good kisser, there, West. A little rough around the edges, but I'm pretty sure we can work on that."

Pressing her lips to his to cut him off because it looked like he was about to protest against her statement, her lips focused more into a serene smile.

"And I love green eyes."

* * *

**A/N: So, I've been writing a ridiculous amount of Young Justice one-shots, so I decided to jus group them all together in one story of inter-connected one-shots. The genres and pairings will vary, and may have mentioned or cross-overs with the Teen Titans series because my theory of how Wally comes back involves Raven. ;D **

**Anyway, hope you enjoyed this. This is the first time I've written something so... out there. XD I'm sixteen now, so, I think I can try slightly more mature writing types in my descriptions. Other people do it, so why can't I try it? :D**

**Please leave a review, I'd really appreciate the support. **

**Word Count: 1,415**

**~CL**


	2. home

**"and i'm on my way home"**

_**by Cerulean Leader**_

_****__****__****__**ø,,ø¤º°°º¤ø,**__**Ƹ̵̡Ӝ̵̨̄Ʒ**__**,**__**ø¤º°°º¤ø**__**,,**__**ø**_

**************Disclaimer: I do not own Young Justice. :)**

**************Rating: T**

**************Pairing: Newsflash (Barry x Iris)**

**************Warnings: Uh, labour? It was awkward writing it, so I can only imagine that it would be awkward reading it. XD And a whole lot of Flash family feels. :'( I may have cried a little towards the end of this, which explains why it is so short.**

**************Summary: Iris and Barry would always say that Wally is part of their kids lives, even though he's not around anymore. Dawn Madeline and Don Wallace would know of the hero their cousin was.**

* * *

"Come on, Iris, you need to push!" the doctor said calmly as he sat at the edge of the bed. The redhead had her normally bright green eyes scrunched in pain and her hair was an absolute mess, covered in sweat and tangled with knots. Barry winced when his wife screamed and squeezed his hand, almost breaking it.

She yelled out again, and the blonde man looked down at his fingers. They were almost turning blue from how much she had been clenching onto his hand. "Barry, why would you do this to me?!" Iris shouted, leaning forward and panting from lassitude, almost looking as though she was about to pass out. "It hurts! It _hurts!"_

"I'm sorry, baby." He replied over her pained screams, trying to calm the woman down. "It'll be over soon, come on, you're strong and you can do this." She looked him in the eyes when she momentarily stopped to catch her breath before nodding, and her ear-piercing yells began once more.

"_Oh my god!"_

"Iris, your son is already out, you just need to push a little further for your other child." The doctor encouraged. Barry pulled his hand away, and grasped Iris' much smaller one with his other to relieve the pain, and he kissed it to let her know that he was still there. Her brows were furrowed and tears were streaming from how much pain the labour had caused.

She shouted to the heavens and cursed loudly and yelling out questions about why she "was being tortured like this". "_Barry,_ make it stop!" she whined, her howls practically shaking the walls.

"A little more, then it will stop." He replied, glancing over at the doctor with widened eyes when he began to hear another cry. Iris' head then dropped into the pillows with a relieved sigh, breathing heavily to try and catch her breath. The room was loud once again with wails, though they weren't from Iris now, but from the newborn infants who were currently being cradled by two nurses. One of them handed him the little girl, who was now bundled up in a cute beanie and thick, woolly blankets while the boy was handed over to an extremely tired Iris who barely had the energy to sit up.

"Hello," she whispered, kissing the baby's forehead while Barry came up beside them with their daughter. He slid onto the bed beside her as he carefully, and leaned over to greet the baby in Iris' arms, as she smiled at their son.

She then directed her smile up at the speedster who responded with his own before their familial moment was interrupted by a new nurse, who looked middle-aged, with tangled black hair, wide brown eyes and chocolate skin. "Excuse me, sorry to interrupt, but do you have any ideas for your childrens' names?" she asked, with a large grin. Her teeth were extremely white.

Iris looked at Barry, the names Bart had said running through her mind. She had loved the name 'Dawn' ever since she was young, and 'Don' was something the two had picked out for their son – a name which Bart had agreed with instantly wth a vigorous nod of his head. Middle names were easy to figure out, already having chosen to name Don after their late nephew, Wally, while Dawn's was on a whim.

"Don Wallace Allen for our little boy," Barry said pressing a kiss to his wife's forehead at the sound of Wally's name. "and Dawn Madeline Allen for his sister."

The nurse raised an eyebrow at Don's middle name, but nonetheless wrote them down on two seperate cards, and taping them to cradles which other people must have brought in while the new parents were nursing their newborns.

Iris closed her bright green eyes as she hugged her son closer to her chest while her mind started to drift towards Wally. Barry and she both wished that he could be here, and even though he couldn't, he would always be in their hearts and included in his cousins' lives.

* * *

**A/N: It... was going to be longer and more characters were going to be included but I was choking up at the mention of Wally. Artemis, his parents and Bart, maybe the Garricks, were going to make an appearance, but I never got to that. I liked how I finished it, I just dislike how short it is. -shrug- Oh, well. **

**Hope you enjoyed! :'( I cried. **

**Word Count: 679**

**~CL**


	3. innocence

**"i don't think there's a word that describes the innocence of you"**

_**by Cerulean Leader**_

_****__****__****__**ø,,ø¤º°°º¤ø,**__**Ƹ̵̡Ӝ̵̨̄Ʒ**__**,**__**ø¤º°°º¤ø**__**,,**__**ø**_

**************Disclaimer: I do not own Young Justice. :)**

**************Rating: K**

**************Pairing: subtle hints of canon ones, especially Spitfire.**

**************Warnings: None, the characters are all little.**

**************Summary: Miss Lance has always found children to be interesting, but this particular bunch in her pre-school class have got to be the most interesting of all, from children who hate monkeys to handing children out flowers to girls because it'll make them 'cool'.**

* * *

"Conner, what is it you have there?" Miss Lance as she crouched down beside the little boy, who was staring at the stuffed monkey that was sitting on the table towards the back of the room. His hands were in his lap, and his intense blue eyes were almost glaring at the toy. The monkey was cute enough, with a large smile and eyes closed excitedly, with two symbols attached to its hands. It was also wearing a red vest.

He shrugged when the blonde teacher came to sit beside him. "Lois got me a monkey." He answered, his childish voice filled with annoyance that didn't suit a three-year old boy. "I don't like monkeys. My daddy knows which is why he got me Wolf." He tugged on the broken strap of his overalls. "I'm going to go play with Sphere."

The little boy turned and jumped off the chair, and went to go find the colourful ball.

Miss Lance stood up with a sigh, and looked at the toy on the table. After Clark had been left with Conner when the boy was an infant, it took him a few months to adjust and he was still pretty distant with his son, but he was slowly getting better. When Conner's father had begun to date his fellow reporter from the Daily Planet, Lois Lane, and his son apparently still was not used to the woman hanging around. No matter how much Lois had tried to bond with her boyfriend's son to no avail, he just did not want too.

She looked around the room, and shook her head and saw that Wally and Artemis were once again arguing, though strangely enough, the redhead's face was red. Behind his back, he was holding a small bunch of wildflowers he must have picked from outside in the yard, and the little girl who had her arms folded was mocking him over the goggles he wore on his head, while he retorted, calling her "Rapunzel" because of the long ponytail she wore up with a large, blue ribbon.

"No! My goggles are cool!"

"Are not!"

"Are too, unlike your silly dress!"

Artemis' arms were folded across her chest and her cheeks were puffed out in anger, slightly tinged pink. Miss Lance watched as his hands clenched the flowers, and his feet began to twitch, a sign that he needed to move around. He had never been a child to sit still for long.

The blonde girl poked her tongue out childishly. "I'm cooler than you!" she retorted. Wally scrunched his face up and then suddenly thrust his arms around in front of him, presenting the flowers, the white and yellow somehow managing to match the t-shirt he was wearing; it was yellow with a white circle and a red lightning bolt running through it.

"My uncle Barry said that if I give these to you, then you would think I'm cool too!" Wally yelled, his green eyes shut in embarrassment, his head bowed.

Artemis took them in her hand and smiled at him. "Okay, you're cool, but only for now."

Miss Lance blinked. She probably would never understand the thoughts that went through children's heads. She supposed they were never meant to know. Her boyfriend's niece would always be a mystery to her, then again, Artemis' older sister, who was in the second grade now, was a lot worse when it came to being mysterious; Artemis was just defensive.

She laughed when Wally grabbed the little girl's hand and pulled her out the door to find their friends.

Miss Lance continued to walk around, observing the children as they played around the room or outside, and she walked towards the window, looking at two of the little girls on the swing set. Megan, who's large smile seemed contagious, was laughing as if she was swung high, almost "touching the stars" as she tried to keep the crown of flowers from falling off her head.

"Higher, higher!"

Megan giggled again as Conner, who, surprisingly enough, was pushing the girl back and forth. He looked cheerful, not like when he was talking to his teacher earlier, and his ball lying to the side, forgotten. Kaldur and Garth were chasing after Raquel, who was pretending to an aeroplane, complete with sound effects and a hearty laugh, while Tula watched from the side, blowing bubbles at her friends who then decide to have a competition of who could pop the most bubbles.

"No way, I can pop the most!" Garth said, as he crouched and then used the tiny muscles in his legs to jump as high as he could to reach the bubbles that were slowly floating to the ground.

Raquel shook her head, deciding the copy the boy with the ponytail but instead of used her hand, she had her mouth open. As a bubble landed in her mouth, she made a disgusted sound and began to wipe her mouth with the sleeve of her purple top. "Ew, bubbles taste gross!"

"You shouldn't be eating them, anyway, Raquel," Kaldur laughed, getting a stick to pop them more.

Zatanna had managed to drag Artemis and Wally to try to help her get Dick down, who was hanging upside down on the monkey bars. He was almost cackling, waving at Wally who just laughed and let go of Artemis' hand to join him.

"Do you want me to put them in your hair?" Zatanna asked, pointing at the flowers in her friend's hands. Artemis nodded, and the two girls sat down on the grass, with the black-haired girl braiding Artemis' hair and twisting the flowers into it.

Soon enough, it was time to call the children back inside and for them to stop playing. They read a quick story, _The Hungry Caterpillar _honestly never got old, and then it was home time. They all raced to get to their tubs first, eager to grab their bags and whatever paintings or models they had created that day. And was that Conner's monkey she spotted with Megan?

They were an interesting bunch.

* * *

**A/N: Hehe, saw a doodle which someone had done on Tumblr, I think it's by 'doodlescrazycurls', and this doodle inspired my little concoction above. I hope you liked it, it only took a few minutes, but I enjoyed writing it. :)**

**Word Count: 1,014**

**~CL**


	4. forever

**"it would be a fire forever tamed"**

_**by Cerulean Leader**_

_****__****__****__**ø,,ø¤º°°º¤ø,**__**Ƹ̵̡Ӝ̵̨̄Ʒ**__**,**__**ø¤º°°º¤ø**__**,,**__**ø**_

**************Disclaimer: I do not own Young Justice. :)**

**************Rating: K+**

**************Pairing: mentions of previous Chalant, Spitfire and Arrowpulse.**

**************Warnings: none other than a FANON PAIRING - set after Endgame, so interpret as you wish over Wally's fate (for me, he's alive because otherwise Artemis would be all mopey).**

**************Summary: Oliver is annoyed at Barry because he can't seem to control his protégées over falling in love with the arrow babies. **

* * *

"Barry, you need to keep your speedsters away from my protégées." Green Arrow greeted the Flash with one night at the Watchtower. The two were on monitor duty that night, and the bearded archer thought that it would be the perfect time to bring up the issue that had been bothering him for years. What was with him and his family getting involved with superheroes?

The Flash raised his eyebrows underneath his bright red cowl. "Uh, what do you mean?"

"They're always coming after my girls. First it was Wally and Artemis, which I'm still not happy about, but now Bart has taken an interest in Cissie."

The fastest man alive could not help but let out a hearty laugh, leaning back in his chair that the front wheels lifted. It almost fell back, but the hero managed to regain his composure in time before anything happened. "Bart and Cissie? Oh, come on, they're just good friends. Besides, isn't Arrowette Tigress' sidekick, not yours?"

"She is still apart of Team Arrow, which means she is family."

The Flash smirked into his clenched fist. "Well, you're gonna have to put up with it like you did with our babies." He replied, looking down at the screen and pressing a few buttons. "Do you know how hard it is to resist the West charm? I couldn't, Artemis couldn't, so it's going to be hard for Cissie as well because Bart is in fact half-West. Don't react like you did when you found out about Wally and Artemis."

Green Arrow almost flinched at the memory. Hearing this story, everyone would assume that Robin had been the one to tell the Justice League member about Artemis and Kid Flash, but it had actually been Superboy who had "accidentally" let it slip from his mouth. It had been about three months after New Years', because Artemis had wanted to keep it a secret as long as possible from all the adults, with the exception of their parents… and Batman.

Kid Flash, being the awkward idiot he is, had not asked his girlfriend out officially until about a month after their first kiss, while she chose not to acknowledge anything that involved something further (other than the times she teased him with stolen kisses in the closet).

Anyway, as a joke, Kid Flash and Robin had decided to get Superboy a toy monkey for his birthday, leaving the Kryptonian in an absolute rage; he had broken and smashed things, yelled at the top of his lungs and would have tackled his friends for sure if it weren't for his self-restraint. As a way of revenge, he had told Green Arrow of the relationship his sidekick was trying to hide and revealing to Batman all the funky business Robin gotten up too, like blackmailing all his friends by taking pictures of them while they were making out or dating Zatanna (something he had been horrified to find out – and had, uncharacteristically, lectured his adoptive son about being too young to be exposing himself to such stuff).

Green Arrow had been absolutely horrified, almost tearing the hair from the top of his hair while he yelled at the Flash for allowing his protégée to contaminate his niece, to which Artemis had retorted with an annoyed, "I'm not really your niece, Ollie, and he's not contaminated!", and the silent treatment directed at her mentor for a good two weeks while she sent him pictures of her and Wally together.

The archer huffed as he recalled what had happened.

"Besides, it's bound to happen soon." The Flash advised. "So, quit your complaining."

* * *

"_Hey, Ciss,"_ Impulse greeted the girl one day in the Watchtower. The whole team had decided to just chill in the cafeteria while they waited for Aqualad and Batgirl to call them to mission room. She responded with a smile, looking up from the book she was reading.

"_Hi, Bart." _

He bit the inside of his cheek while she settled the paperback onto the metal table top, looking up at him intently with her brown eyes wide. He was nervous as it is, but with her looking at him so expectantly. His cheeks suddenly turned rosy, and he swallowed the lump in his throat.

"_I, uh…"_

Green Arrow watched intently with a frown on his face while he slowly chewed on the macaroni and cheese he was eating. This was one of his babies, another one who was about to contaminated by a speedster.

"What are you doing?" Tigress asked a few seconds later, making her former mentor let out a cry, with his fork and food fly everywhere. Once he regained his composure, he glared at the girl, who was squinting at the screen before them. "Why are you spying on Bart and Cissie?" she asked incredulously, her grey eyes narrowing while he laughed guiltily, poking his fingers together.

"_Oliver," _she said sharply.

He sighed, and pressed the monitor button to turn it off. "You can't control us forever. Besides, as I recall, she's my protégée." She laughed, hugging her 'uncle'.

Arrowette had her eyebrows raised in confusion while Impulse stood there, fiddling and changing his weight onto the opposing foot every few seconds. His mouth was opening and closing like a fish gasping for air because they were out of water, and no words would form. "Bart, are you alright?"

He shrugged, and let out a sound of a high-pitched squeal. "Yep," he said, his voice all squeaky. "Just fine."

The young archer stood up and walked towards him, her boots clacking against the floor. She made him look at her directly in the eyes, before she smiled. "If I'm not mistaken, I'd say you are nervous because you're trying to ask me out."

His green eyes almost popped out of his head, before he laughed nervously, bringing a gloved hand to run through his auburn hair. "Maybe." Impulse replied as his voice slowly returned to normal.

"Yes, then."

"Really?!"

"Sure."

* * *

_"Oliver, you owe me fifty bucks?"_

_"Why?!" _

_"He asked her out, so, HA!"_

Incoherent groaning was all that was heard before the line was cut.

* * *

**A/N: I hate this so much; I think I've probably written about Wally and Artemis too much, but I can't help it. I was supposed to be purely Arrowpulse with MENTIONS of Spitfire, but... yeah. Please leave a review, they're much appreciated. :)**

**I'm glad everybody seems to be enjoying it so far. :D You guys are awesome. **

**Word Count: 1,042**

**Ooh, if you guys have prompts for a one-shot, please inbox me or mention it in a review. That'd be great. ^_^**

**~CL**


	5. glimmer

**"take my hand and we can beat this glimmer of a dream out from the corner"**

_**by Cerulean Leader**_

_****__****__****__**ø,,ø¤º°°º¤ø,**__**Ƹ̵̡Ӝ̵̨̄Ʒ**__**,**__**ø¤º°°º¤ø**__**,,**__**ø**_

**************Disclaimer: I do not own Young Justice. :)**

**************Rating: K+**

**************Pairing: Supermartian**

**************Warnings: none**

**************Summary: **"So, even though she would be haunted by these thoughts of remorse for the rest of her life, she tried not to let them get her down. She had people who supported her and loved her, and that's all she needed."

* * *

_Prompt: "We will be known forever by the tracks we leave." (Dakota proverb) by Linzerj_

When she had finally revealed to Conner the truth behind what she had done to Kaldur and the crucial information she had discovered, M'gann felt that a massive burden had been lifted off her chest, only to be replaced with new ones.

She had just completely broke down, much she had when Batman and her uncle had enlisted them to do the mental training exercise, practically collapsing in Conner's arms as tears of remorse fell down her freckled cheeks. Seeing her friends in pain with those everlasting memories lingering in their minds made her feel extremely guilty, no matter how much people attempted to console her by saying that she was _not _at fault.

Finally realising the damage she was doing to her victims when she mentally "broke" their minds after her telepathic attack on Kaldur, it was like her eyes were opening properly for the first time in years; how her relationship with La'gaan was just a front to make her feel better about herself, how Gar knew that something was wrong with his sister, how much she really missed Conner, and how dangerous the life really can be.

Being kidnapped by Deathstroke and Artemis while she was undercover really did give the Martian time to think and too analyse all aspects in her life.

She missed the _old _team, not that she didn't like the new team, but the life before when all her friends were still together. She missed the old Dick; the less serious one who would cackle at anything and troll everyone, she missed Wally; the class-clown of their crew and his gross flirtations when they were directed at a certain blonde, she missed Kaldur; their level-headed leader with they all shared a brother-like relationship, she missed Artemis; the stubborn blonde who was always ready with a witty comeback, she missed Zatanna; their magician who anybody could get along with; she missed Raquel; the ambitious girl with an attitude to match, she even missed Red Arrow, the idiot.

Being traumatised by her own actions and seeing Kaldur in a catatonic state had only heightened her previous insecurities of rejection.

When her little brother had found out, he was extremely surprised, and torn between his admiration in her abilities or his fear of what she had been doing. Needless to say, it had taken him a few days to talk to her properly, but he eventually managed to support his sister full-heartedly.

"M'gann…" Gar had said hesitantly, approaching his sister in a way that made her think it was reluctant, but he looked guilty, not disgusted. He was rubbing the fur on one of his arms as he walked towards her, and sat down beside the Martian. "I just wanted to tell you that I'm sorry for being so unsupportive. Conner came to talk to me about everything, and I feel really bad now because I haven't been supportive like you have been for me ever since my mum died."

She didn't say anything in return, just pulled him into a hug which he returned.

M'gann had confessed her overuse of her telepathic powers on her victims to Batman after he had returned from Rimbor. He had been surprisingly understanding, choosing not to report her to anyone and even promising to keep it quiet and not reveal to her uncle the severities of her actions, though, she was now under close surveillance, to which she had agreed immediately, due to wanting to redeem herself.

Everybody had been extremely good to her, especially the people she was the closest too. Even though J'onn had no idea about it, he would allow the random hugs she threw at him. He didn't question her about it, nor read her thoughts, but he acted on instinct; like a father would to his daughter. That's how he saw his niece, and Gar (as his son) ever since he had been adopted into their little family.

The people of Earth would always be kept in the dark about this, but M'gann would always know, and that's what scared her the most.

She was coping though, so this was a good sign. No one who knew blamed her, though, not Conner anymore. He had even opted to not bring up the subject again ever since they got back together, which had been slightly awkward on its own because of La'gaan hanging around all the time with a permanent scowl on his face and the other girls teasing them endlessly.

The boys except Gar didn't dare to tease Conner because they were scared of him, and Kaldur did not either because he was mature. Though, he had them to keep their relationship professional while on missions once again – which was odd, hearing the talk again.

So, even though she would be haunted by these thoughts of remorse for the rest of her life, she tried not to let them get her down. She had people who supported her and loved her, and that's all she needed.

* * *

**A/N: Hello, all you wonderful people. Sorry I haven't updated this in a couple of weeks, I've just been focusing on homework, a collab fic I'm working on and Heartstrings. XD Anyway, thanks for everyone's reviews and support. :)**

**To Linzerj, this was the only thing I could come up with, unfortunately. It was a lot shorter originally, so I was going to add another one-shot underneath but I decided to add to it and add number 6 separately. :D**

**Word Count: 832**

**~CL**


	6. believe

**"if we believe it, we can breathe it into life"**

_**by Cerulean Leader**_

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**************Disclaimer: I do not own Young Justice. :)**

**************Rating: K+**

**************Pairing: mentions of Supermartian**

**************Warnings: none**

**************Summary: Post 1x26. Parent Teacher Interviews are coming up at Conner and M'gann's school. Only problem is, Conner doesn't know how to ask Clark to come.**

* * *

When Conner was first called out of his room to attend the training session that Black Canary had taken time off for, they were pretty surprised to hear a loud yell, a crash and then see the teenager stalking out of his room with a "cute" pout on his defined face. His eyebrows were knotted together in annoyance, but just ignored all the confused expressions he received when he went to stand beside Dick and Wally without a word.

Dick glanced at him, before poking him in the shoulder. "Superboy, are you okay?"

Conner was silently fuming, his breathing slowly becoming heavy while he just stared ahead of him. Apparently, the rocky walls were a lot more interesting than his friends. Black Canary just stood there with a raised eyebrow, re-tugging on the fingerless glove that must have slipped off. "Uh, dude?" nudged Wally. "What's up your ass?"

M'gann looked at her boyfriend with sad eyes. "Parent Teacher Interviews were just announced at school today." she sighed, rubbing her arm. "He's feeling conflicted because him and Superman only recently got on good terms and he might think that's a bit awkward to attend something as Conner's father."

Raquel and Zatanna just looked at each other with a shrug.

"The big man isn't going to bite, Supes." Artemis laughed, ignoring the warning look that Kaldur was sending her.

Black Canary then moved to stand in the centre of the room. "Maybe it would be best if I approach him with his information?" she suggested, trying to make eye-contact with the stubborn Kryptonian. "Batman put me down as one of your guardians, Conner, so I'm happy to go if you want me too."

"Can we just get on with training?"

Kaldur nodded his head, hoping to release the tension in the room that had built up quickly. "That is a good idea."

* * *

"Superman, a word, please?" Black Canary said the next day when she approached the hero of Metropolis. He was standing beside Wonder Woman and the Flash, seeming to be in the middle of an intense talk but she didn't worry about it.

He turned to her in confusion, and excused himself from his fellow Justice League founders. "Uh, sure, Dinah." He led her away so they could talk privately, his face holding a concerned expression. "What's wrong? Has something happened? Is it to do with Conner?"

"You catch on fast."

"Batman is rubbing off on me."

She smirked in response, but decided to cut to the chase. "Look, Clark, you know he really looks up to you, right?" A nod in response. "Parent Teacher Interviews are coming up in a few days at his school, and he wants you to attend them as his _father._" she explained. He didn't seem fazed at the term, just a small tug at the corners of his mouth as a reaction.

"He couldn't ask me himself?" he asked, his blue eyes shining in curiosity. The more he got to know the boy, the more he grew on him. They had been getting along really well, even taking on some sort of brother/father relationship and with Clark giving Conner his own Kryptonian name, "Kon-El". He'd even introduced Conner to John and Martha Kent, who had been eagerly awaiting to meet the boy they could call another son (with a lecture from the slowly aging woman to Clark for keeping the other metahuman away from them for so long).

"Conner thought that you might be uncomfortable doing it, so I offered to talk to you."

"I'd love too. So, when is it?"

* * *

"Clark, you don't have to do this." Conner said, almost shyly, as they stepped out of the station wagon. Clark just smiled in response, fixing his square-rimmed glasses and the fedora hat so that they sat properly. "I mean, seriously. I'd would understand if you want to go back to Metropolis now. I'll just call Black Canary."

The journalist looked at him sceptically, in a teasing manner."Are you trying to get rid of me so that I don't here all the bad feedback from your teachers?" Conner tilted his head to the side, a questionable look on his face.

"I have good grades."

"Then let them tell me that so I can go home proud." he replied, walking through the Happy Habour High School double doors with a dumbfounded Conner right on his heels. "Which way to the gym?" The younger boy just told him the directions automatically, not bothering to offer another escape opening because it didn't seem that the older Kent would take the opportunity, seemingly dead-set on wanting to getting to know his son even further.

Reaching a table with a pile of papers on it, Clark grabbed one and began reading through the teachers names. "Who are we seeing first?"

"Uh," Conner began, glancing down at a crumpled slip in his palm. "My History teacher, Lucas Carr."

"Ah, Mr Kent, Conner, glad you could make it." Mr Carr said with a friendly smile. The teacher was as happy as ever, especially with the good feedback he had to report to his students parents for the semester. Plus, he was seeing an old friend (Clark, because he had worked with the Justice League on several occasions himself). "Unfortunately, I really have nothing bad to say about your son, Mr Kent. He's a top-notch student who definitely knows his stuff."

Clark clapped a hand on Conner's shoulder. "Glad to hear it. So, no misbehaving or anything like that? No catching him with Megan?"

The younger Kryptonian's blue eyes widened and his cheeks began to grow hot under his usually stoic manner that he upheld most of the time. _"What?!" _he hissed through clenched teeth, ready to just sink into the floor from embarrassment.

"I'm kidding, I'm kidding!"

* * *

"Aren't you glad that I came now?" Clark asked as he cut a piece of steaming apple pie with the side of his fork.

Conner was glaring at him with annoyance. "You're going to enjoy embarrassing me for the rest of my life, right?" he asked with a dejected sigh, digging into his own slice of pie, poking at it. He had decided on an apple one as well, as well as a bit of cream on the side. Ever since M'gann had accidentally soaked him in egg yolk and flour, he had had this weird addiction to cream.

And soup too, surprisingly(1).

"Maybe just once in a blue moon." Clark laughed, pushing his glasses further up his nose as he swallowed the pastry. "Anyway, I'm glad I came. It feels good to know that I'm doing something right with my life right know and making up for all those months that I avoided my responsibilities, you know what I mean?"

Conner nodded. "I'm glad you did too."

* * *

**A/N: I've been dying to write this for a while now because the idea has been floating around in my head for around 3 weeks now. It turned out longer and weirder than I originally planned, but whatever. :)**

**Okay, to the readers of Heartstrings, Part 6 will be up soon, I'm just trying to work out some details so that I can finish writing it. It would be a big help if you voted on the poll I set up on my profile as well to help me. Thanks!**

**(1) If anybody understood this reference, I'll love you forever. For those who didn't, go search up Inner Mind Theater on YouTube right now, 'cause you're missing out on some funny YJ stuff! :D**

**Word Count: 1,170**

**Thanks for reading, and please consider leaving a review. (:**

**~CL**


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